Ted Nugent says Rick Perry is a dear friend — but might not want his endorsement

Ted Nugent and Gov. Rick Perry at an event together in 2005. (AP Photo)

Rock star Ted Nugent considers himself a dear and personal friend of Gov. Rick Perry and is one of the Republican presidential candidate’s most outspoken supporters. But he’s not sure that’s a good thing for Perry.

“If I’m not given an authorized position in the campaign [it’s] because I’m too divisive,” Nugent told Billboard.com “I don’t know if I’ll get a stamp of approval because I am so volatile and because the line in the sand in a political campaign can be so ambiguous — and I’m anything but.”

Nugent told Billboard.com that his involvement with campaign efforts could potentially “scare away” some voters. In 2007, Nugent stirred controversy while performing at the inaugural ball celebrating Perry’s gubernatorial win where he donned a Confederate flag t-shirt and shouted offensive remarks during the ceremony.

Nugent has called Crawford, Texas home for the past six years and performed at Perry’s political events in the past, but he says future endorsements are now uncertain.

“That bully pulpit can also have a serious tone to it,” Nugent said to Billboard.com. “But on a rock ‘n’ roll stage, I can tell Hillary Clinton to straddle my machine gun.”

Perry’s presidential campaign did not respond to questions regarding Nugent’s future involvement in the campaign.